Hyderabad: A fire broke out near a temple in Nalgonda early on Sunday, July 26, and spread quickly in which 15 shops were reportedly gutted.

The incident occurred near the Sri Parvati Jadala Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple at Cheruvugattu, under Narketpally mandal, due to a suspected short circuit in one of the shops. It caused an estimated loss of Rs 9 lakh.

Speaking to Siasat.com, Nagolnda District Fire Officer, Satyanarayna Reddy said, “The fire occurred due to a short circuit at a shop around 3 AM. There were no casualties or injuries in the incident.”

The fire occurred at a time when a large number of devotees were around the temple on the occasion of Tholi Ekadasi. The fire also spread to the Gram Panchayat office, where a few documents were damaged.

A total of three fire engines were rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after several hours of firefighting.

Addressing the media, an official said, “The fire may have occurred due to a short circuit, and it spread quickly because most shops around the temple consist of candles and incense sticks sticks which are used for puja and are highly inflammable.”

A video shared on social media showed firemen trying to control the fire with water guns.